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We all know operations can cover a large and varied amount of work, and JIRA Core allows you to organize that work, no matter how simple or complex. JIRA Core workflows can be customized to allow you to move through various stages on a non-linear path. Each step in the workflow is a status, and you move between statuses via a transition. Your transition could bypass several statuses to get you directly from To do to Done, or it could take you down a path that means once you select any other status other than Done, you have to complete more statuses to progress to Done.

Sound a little complicated? Let's look at an example, say you run a small manufacturing business making bespoke metal parts. Some metal parts are simple, and all they require is one process, such as simple cutting with a laser, to complete the part, and some metal parts are more complex, requiring a series of operations to produce the finished part. How could you control these in one project?

Use case

Manufacturing - metal fabrication

What Business projectshould I start with?

Project Management - This gives you a straightforward workflow of To do, In progress and Done, and accompanying issue types of Task and Sub-task.

How can I do this?

Create a task for each new piece of work that comes in.

Add a description that states what's needed in terms of raw material, and add any supporting drawings as attachments.

Create a sub-task for everything that needs to be done separately. You may need other parts cut and folded, or special parts ordered in.

Assign each sub-task to the relevant person responsible for making sure it's done. They can complete the sub-task when they've completed their task. Make sure you have these sub-tasks completed before advancing the main task.

Once all these sub-tasks have been completed, you can progress the parent task, and mark it as done once you have completed the work!

How would this look?

Can I make this easier?

Well in this case, the flow is pretty straightforward. While work's in progress, the task is in progress, and when it's complete the work is done. Adding comments would be a great way keep track of the work, and where it is in the process. Assigning tasks and sub-tasks to the relevant parties helps make sure everyone knows when they have something to do!

Other customizations

JIRA Core's workflows can be configured to suit your process, so in this case you may want to track all the work on one task. You could add statuses of all the main stages in metal fabrication, like Cut, Laser, Punch, Fold... right through to Paint, Inspection and then Done. If any stage isn't required, you can simply transition the task straight through to the next required stage. You could also customize the issue types, making a different sub-task for each stage, as some parts could probably progress through fabrication independently. You can even set up separate workflows for different issue types in the project! It's all about how you work, and how your team likes to do things. JIRA Core just lets you do it and keep track of it.